Skirmish on the edge of Khemikhal

 The first actual tabletop battle was a small affair fought last night.  US forces comprised 302/1, a Marine company of 4 Infantry,  an HMG support platoon and an 81mm support platoon along with an FAO for naval gunfire support.

  Facing them was a mixed Khemed force of an armoured recce company of 2 BRDM2 & 2 BMP-2's,  an Infantry company of 4 Infantry,  mortar and HMG and an artillery battery of 3 on table 152mm guns (represented by some 100mm AT guns). Shown above is the outskirts of town,  looking south towards the coast. (I place Khemed as being next to Yemen on the southern coast of the Arabian peninsula). The Marines needed to seize the village and hold it until nightfall on turn 8. Khemed forces would enter from the road to the right in a random order. The very first dice roll of the Americans was a blunder,  which set the tone for much of the game on both sides. The Marines rushed to take up positions in the buildings along with the FAO who called in some accurate fire from the destroyers,  knocking out the lead BRDM2 in turn 2. A bonus command roll in turn 3 saw the second BRDM2 knocked out while the rearmost BMP-2 was leading a charmed life and emerged unscathed from another barrage. 

The artillery came on in turn 3 and straight away had an immediate and devastating effect. They levelled a building over open sights,  taking out the Americans in cover there before moving on to another building where movement had been observed.  Unluckily for the Marines,  this was the building with the FAO in.  

 At the midpoint of the game the pressure was starting to tell,  multiple US blunders plagued the Marines while the Khemed infantry closed the gap,  hoping to make it too dangerous for the Americans to call in their artillery. However,  the crossfire and confused nature of fighting in an urban area got to the Khemed commanders and blunders saw them suppress the vital supporting fire from the remaining BMP-2 and mortar.  

The Marine CO managed to call in a vital fire mission which destroyed the enemy artillery battery entirely. In the final two turns,  bullets and autocannon shells criss-crossed the village square with the Khemed HMG and mortar being knocked out before night fell and the relieved Marines saw the Khemed forces withdraw. 

A fascinating game,  the command blunders made it a really close affair and were a nice welcome back after a lockdown of far too few games.